Calling on Syria’s friends to work to stop the bleeding of Syria, Sayyid Ammar al-Hakim calls for resolving the Syrian crisis via dialogue and the forming of a government that calms down all groups in Syria and the entire region.
Sayyid Ammar al-Hakim, Head of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq (ISCI), called on all parties to the dispute in Syria to employ dialogue as the way to resolve the Syrian crisis and to form a government that calms down all groups in Syria and the entire region. His Eminence stressed that the Syrian crisis is not resolved with arms, and that the parties to the Syrian crisis are wrong and are on the wrong track.
This came up in the Weekly Forum which was held in Baghdad on Wednesday, October 17, 2012. His Eminence stressed that wars are not treated with crises, wondering if arms settles the matter, where is the settlement while the Syrian blood has been bleeding for a year and a half? His Eminence warned about targeting the infrastructure and turning the country into a destruction that will increase hatred and complicate the solution, explaining that countries enter in wars in order to improve their negotiation chance, then they sit down at the dialogue table. He regarded the initiative of the U.N. and Arab envoy, Lakhdar Ibrahimi is a good one for a ceasefire on the occasion of Eidul-Adha, expressing his support for this initiative and for any initiative that contributes to stopping the bloodletting. His Eminence renewed Iraq’s non-interference in the Syrian affairs, calling on Syria’s friends from the United States of America, the European Union and the League of Arab States to encourage the parties to the dispute through their relationships to stop the battles and the Syrian bleeding. His Eminence regarded the visit by Ibrahimi to area countries, including Iraq, as a sound step when he meets with countries that affect and are affected by the Syrian dossier, pointing out to these visits representing an opportunity to Ibrahimi to get acquainted with the obsessions of the area’s peoples.
His Eminence expressed his regret for Syria’s bleeding wound, expressing his rejection of the Syrian bleeding that has been going on for a year and a half because they are Arab and Muslim neighbors as well as neighbors of Iraq and of the Iraqi people. He pointed out that Iraq suffered for long because of dictatorship and is still paying for the legacies despite the passage of nine years since the fall of the regime. His Eminence added saying, “For these reasons, we do not want the Syrians to go through what we have been through,” hoping that courageous steps would be undertaken to go to the dialogue table.
Turning to the poor and the needy during Eidul-Adha
About Eidul-Adha and the start of the ten days of the month of Thul-Hijja, Sayyid Ammar al-Hakim called on the merchants to notice the reality of the Iraqi people and its living conditions and to sacrifice a percentage of their profits for the poor and the needy, pointing out that the society is full of the poor and the needy. He called on well-to-do people to turn to the poor from among their relatives, kinsfolk and neighbors.
Expanding the concept of political expulsion
Sayyid Ammar al-Hakim expressed his appreciation of the stance of the General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers for expanding the concept of political expulsion to include a large segment which was not employed during the time of the past regime because of fighting it, and it did not earn a degree and was not employed in the New Iraq because of advancing in age and not having an academic degree that qualifies it to compete with others, calling on the sons of this segment to undertake their opportunity and demand their rights.
Desertification: A dangerous environmental phenomenon
About desertification and the dust storms which Iraq faces, Sayyid Ammar al-Hakim regarded desertification and the dust storms that hit Iraq as being dangerous, explaining that Iraq loses annually 100,000 acres of arable lands because of desertification which leads to the migration of farmers and to negative impacts on those who suffer respiratory problems and also the elderly. He called on the concerned sides to pay this subject a special attention by studying it and finding solutions for desertification in Iraq.
Rivalry over administrative positions harms sports
His Eminence pointed out, in his talk in the Weekly Cultural Forum, to the rivalry over sports positions and to the interference of non-sports elements in the athletic affairs harming the Iraqi sports reality and idling many athletic energies that distanced themselves and were kept at bay as a result of disputes. He called on the athletes to seek the arbitration of the international laws, stressing his following up and monitoring the subject of those who object to the elections at the International Cup Court. His Eminence pointed out to Iraq losing its decisive game against Australia in the World Cup Finals being taken into consideration among achievements and failures, calling on the Iraqi Football Union to bear its responsibility towards the fate of the Iraqi sports.
